(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State volleyball team rebounded from two tough losses early in the week to go 3-0 and win the York College Tournament this weekend.
The Bobcats swept Bethel College (Kan.) 25-23, 25-18, 26-24 on Friday. Then, on Saturday, after losing the first set to the host Panthers by a score of 21-25, Peru State went on to take the next three 25-19, 25-18, 31-29. The final game of the tournament for the 'Cats was against Central Christian College (Kan.). Peru State handily swept the Tigers 25-17, 25-20, 25-14.
Rian Kirby led Peru State with 11 kills iin win over Bethel With the three wins, the Bobcats improve to 12-9 on the season.
Bethel Game Notes and Stats The 'Cats found themselves behind early against the Threshers as many as six at 12-6. The Bobcats would eventually tie it at 15-15 when
Kelsey Young (Goodfield, Ill.) had a service ace. This did not seem to bother Bethel as they scored the next four points to lead 19-15. Consecutive kills by
Bre Brandt (Papillion), Nicole Soifua (West Point, Utah), and
Rachael West (El Dorado, Kan.), followed by two errors by Bethel put Peru State back on top at 21-20. Eventually, back-to-back kills by
Jennifer Ostrowski (Kankakee, Ill.) and Brandt gave the 'Cats a first set win 25-23.
After being tied at 6-6, the Bobcats eventually pulled away for a 25-18 win in the second set.
Bethel still was undaunted at the Peru State's 2-0 lead as they jumped to a 20-10 advantage before the 'Cats, once again, fought back. The Bobcats came back to within one at 21-20 after a kill by
Rian Kirby (Gretna) on an assist from
Courtney Jurek (Bellevue). However, the Threshers went up 24-20, so the Bobcats were forced to fend off set points. A service error by Bethel gave Peru State life.
Shannon Liewer (Imperial) stepped to the service line and hit an ace to make it 24-22 Bethel. An attack error, followed by a kill by Brandt knotted the set at 24-24. Another attack error was followed another Liewer service ace to give the 'Cats the 26-24 win.
Kirby led Peru State with 11 kills, the only Bobcat with double-digit kills and hit .333. Ostrowski and Brandt each added six kills while
Lea Boras (Markarska, Croatia), Soifua, and West each added five.
Jurek had 18 assists while Young added 15.
Rachael West had five kills
against BethelLiewer and
Jordyn Lukasiewicz (Farwell) each had two service aces while Soifua and Young having one apiece.
Mallory Hull (Morse Bluff) led the team with 22 digs. Lukasiewicz and Liewer each finished with nine.
Soifua was credited with one solo block and one block assist while Boras had a block assist.
BETHEL BOX SCORE York Game Notes and Stats The teams battled back and forth in the early part of the first set with Peru State eventually taking a 14-11 lead on a York attack error. A 9-3 run by the Panthers gave York a 23-17 lead which they did not relinquish.
The Bobcats never trailed in the second set in route to the 25-19 win which ended on a Brandt kill on an assist from Jurek.
York took a 3-0 lead before the teams battled back and forth until Peru State tied it at 11-11 on a
Carrie Lierz (Holton, Kan.) kill coming off an assist from Jurek. The 'Cats would jump to a 17-11 which was aided by several Panther hitting errors. The teams basically traded points the rest of the way in the set which Peru State won 25-18.
The fourth set was definitely back and forth between the teams as neither team had more than a three-point lead. Peru State's three-point lead came at 6-3 while York's largest advantage was at 19-16. Later, the score was tied at 21-21 and neither team could pull ahead by two until after it was tied at 29-29. A kill by Lierz on an assist by Jurek made it 30-29. An assist from
Meg Grose (Peoria, Ariz.) to West ended with a kill and Peru State prevailed 31-29.
Brandt finished with 15 kills and hit .316 to lead the 'Cats. Lierz finished with 12 kills and hit .275. West added six skills while Soifua and
Alyssa Martin (Grand Island) each had five kills.
Jurek led the team with 23 assist while Grose added 19.
Jurek and Hull each had two service aces with Lukasiewicz adding one.
Mallory Hull passes the ball while Kelsey Young gets
ready to set it. Hull led Peru State with digs in each game. Hull finished the four-set win with 29 digs with Lukasiewicz contributing 12.
Hope Harsh (Cassoday, Kan.) added eight digs with Brandt having six.
Soifua, Brandt, and Martin each were credited with one solo block. Soifua and
Lindsey Nelson (Granite City, Calif.) each had four block assists with Martin adding three. West added two block assists with Grose finishing with one.
YORK BOX SCORE Central Christian Game Notes and Stats Peru State never trailed in the first set, although the Tigers were within one at 13-12 before the Bobcats pulled away.
In the second set, Central Christian went ahead 2-0 for their only lead of the entire game. After the set was tied at 3-3, Peru State went up 8-3 and never were challenged the rest of the set.
After a 1-1 tie in the third set, once again the 'Cats pulled away for an easy win which concluded with a kill by Lierz on an assist from Young.
Kirby led the Bobcats with 14 kills while hitting .400. In her most significant playing time of the year,
Alexandria Mitchell (Fort Worth, Texas) had 11 kills on just 13 swings and hit a terrific .769.
Jurek and Young led the setting with 18 and 15 assists respectively.
Hull finished with 12 digs while Harsh added seven.
Alex Mitchell had 11 kills
against Central ChristianSoifua was credited with one solo block and four block assists. Mitchell and Boras each had two block assists while Ostrowski and Kirby each added one block assist.
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN BOX SCORE Upcoming Games Peru State's fourth attempt to get into the win column in Heart of America Athletic Conference play will happen on Tuesday night when the Bobcats host MidAmerica Nazarene University at 7 p.m. Currently, the Pioneers are 10-8 overall and 2-0 in the Heart.
This coming weekend, the 'Cats will participate in the Bellevue University Tournament. On Friday, Peru State will Harris-Stowe State College (Mo.) at 10 a.m. and then plays the College of St. Mary at 6:00 p.m. Presently, Harris-Stowe is 5-7 while the Flames are 11-4.
On Saturday, the Bobcats will take on Waldorf College at 1 p.m. and follow with the tourney hosts, Bellevue, at 5 p.m. Currently, Waldorf is 4-13 while the Bruins are 11-12 having started the season with 11 losses and then followed it with 11 wins before following to Clarke University (Iowa) Saturday night.
